By: Music Press Asia Staff
- Asia’s hip hop scene gets a major boost from MTV Asia’s latest programme featuring top hip hop artists.
- Viacom International Media Networks bagged one regional win and four nominations at Asian Academy Creative Awards in Singapore.
Yo! MTV Raps. Photograph courtesy of All Is Amazing, We are KIX
MTV Asia’s successful roll out of Yo! MTV Raps Special released June last year has been gaining momentum over the last few months which soon culminated to a frenzy when the programme won ‘Best Music Or Dance Programme’ award at Asian Academy Creative Awards.
MTV Asia was among seven nominees from the region in the same category, at the awards held at the Capitol Theatre in Singapore.
The standalone special was a reboot of the legendary hip-hop series ‘YO! MTV Raps’ and celebrated the explosion of hip-hop across Asia with a fresh format that included music, culture and lifestyle. It aired in June 2018 and featured 11 Asian hip-hop artists from the region. Hosted by Jessi (Korea) and Yung Raja (Singapore), other participating artists were Young Lex (Indonesia), G2 (Korea), Joe Flizzow (Malaysia), SonaOne (Malaysia), Zamaera (Malaysia), Airliftz (Malaysia), DJ Biggie (Malaysia), Fariz Jabba (Singapore), and Twopee (Thailand). Recently, Joe Flizzow was also recently awarded the 2018 MTV EMA Award for ‘Best Southeast Asia Act’. The top performing 5-artist Cypher video garnered over 1.2 million video views in Southeast Asia.
“What an incredible honour to receive this recognition from the industry! it is vindication that an authentic and Asian experience of hip-hop has made an impact. The award could also not be more timely as we have greenlit a series for Southeast Asia, following this special,” said Sari Trisulo, Executive Producer – ‘YO! MTV Raps’ Southeast Asia Special.
Hanli Hoefer Best Music or Dance Programme YO! MTV Raps Special, Photo courtesy of Asian Academy Creative Awards.
Reinvented for the current generation of hip-hop fans around the world, each international ‘YO!’ will be anchored by two local presenters and feature regional emerging artists, in-studio and remote custom performances (YO! Originals), as well as special segments that tell unique stories and discover compelling people and trends within each local hip-hop scene.
Like the original, each localised ‘YO!’ will be a destination for current and new fans to discover the best in rap music and hip-hop.
The inaugural Asian Academy Creative Awards form a significant pillar of the Singapore Media Festival and are proudly supported by the Singapore Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). It celebrates works from Australia & New Zealand, Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Click here for the full winners list.
